HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



195 



Wellington had advanced in his 

 retreat two leagues bevond Coim- 

 bra. His left wing occupied the 

 mountains'of Ancorba ; his right 

 extended to Pen-Acova, on the 

 Mondego, at the mouth of the 

 Vouga, about fourteen miles in 

 advance of the enemy, wlio had 

 pushed his advanced guard as far 

 as Pen-Aheira of Azoie. Behind 

 the mountains of Ancorba, and 

 in a parallel direction was a road, 

 running from north and south be- 

 tween Coimbra and Sardas, at the 

 northern part of the road, which 

 was occupied by the Portuguese 

 militia, under colonel Trent. A 

 corps of 1,000 troops, British and 

 Portuguese, was stationed at Meal- 

 badda, communicating with the 

 forces of colonel Trent, and the 

 main body of the British arm}'. 

 Marshal Beresford, with his corps 

 of disciplined Portuguese, who had 

 arrived, Sept. 22, at the Sierra 

 de Bestieros, was stationed at the 

 northern extrem.ity of the moun- 

 tains of Ancorba, and by means of 

 the divisions of colonel Trent and 

 general Spencer, had effected, by 

 the road just mentioned, a junc- 

 tion with lord Wellington, who, 

 over and above the advantage 

 ■of his position in the mountains, 

 brought the Portuguese troops into 

 the line of his operations, and was 

 nearer to his principal resources, 

 while the distance of Massena 

 from his magazines became still 

 greater and greater. Lord Wel- 

 liogton was accompanied in his 

 retreat with the whole population 

 of the country, who destroyed as 

 rrHJch as they could of the pro- 

 perty they couUl not carry along 

 with ih^m. lathe mean time, 

 general Regnier's corps having 

 arrived at Sabw^al and Atfay.tes 



on the 12th and 13th of Septem- 

 ber, the French army on the 15th 

 moved from Almeida in great 

 force of infantry, cavalry, and ar- 

 tillery, by the towns of Guarda, 

 and Celerico. They surmounted 

 the heights, and descended into 

 the valley of the Mondego. On 

 the same day, another strong 

 column passed over the heights 

 of Alverca, forming the left of 

 the chain of Guarda and Mayal- 

 dechava. On the 16th, the Bri- 

 tish cavalry, under sir Stapleton 

 Cotton, retired from Celerico to 

 the valley of the Mondego. 



When two corps of the French 

 army were put in motion for the 

 investment of Ciudad Rodrigo, 

 that under Regiiier quilting the 

 neighbourhood of Badajoz, ex- 

 tended itself along the right bank 

 of the Tagus to menace the fron- 

 tier of Portugal on that side, 

 while at the same time it commu- 

 nicated with the two other corps 

 of the army of Massena by the 

 mountains to the north of the 

 valley of Placentia. Lord Wel- 

 lington, in order to discomfit this 

 plan of attack, assembled the dif- 

 ferent corps of the alHed army in 

 the neighbourhood of Almeida, 

 and gave it in charge to gen. Hill, 

 who was then posted at Elvas, to 

 watch the movements of Regnier, 

 and to make a movement on the 

 right bank of the Tagus, in order 

 to cover the road to Castle Branco 

 from Lisbon, which Regnier me- 

 naced. In the mean time, a corps 

 of reserve was formed under the 

 orders of general Leith at Tho- 

 mar. The moment, accordingly, 

 that the French general began to 

 co-operate directly with Massena, 

 by a movement towards the right 

 bank, of the Tagus, general Hill, 



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